The Drinker, the Aardvark, and the Hat that Changed the World

The Drinker, the Aardvark, and the Hat that Changed the World “Paying Attention to What You’re Paying Attention To” Series Ms. R’s emaciated body shook so violently I wasn’t sure she would make it across the room to the ‘client’ chair, but she did. Ms. R, 56, had clearly crossed …

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Three Things the Other Person Does Better Than You

“Paying Attention to What You’re Paying Attention To” Series Three Things the Other Person Does Better ***To make sense of this post, first read: “How Orange Jell-O Changed My Life” The habit of talking about ‘the other people’ in the family when leaving a family event is a fairly common …

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Paying Attention: How Orange Jello Changed My Life

Paying Attention to What You’re Paying Attention To: The Orange Jello Incident My in-laws lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is about a nine-hour drive from Austin. Why do I mention the length of the trip? Because, nine hours is a long time for a husband to listen to his wife …

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Paying Attention to What You’re Paying Attention To, Part 1

What Do You Mean, You Didn’t Notice? Paying Attention to What You’re Paying Attention To, Part 1 The Green Wallpaper Incident Dr. A is a fifty-two-year old psychiatrist who began the hour saying: “I’m satisfied in most areas of my life, but for some reason, every long-term relationship I’ve been …

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MysteryShrink Shorts: ‘Brand’ or ‘Person?’

MysteryShrink Shorts: ‘Brand’ or ‘Person?’ The answer if very important. If you are getting up every day to work on your brand, you must direct your time, energy, in money into going from who you are to ‘who you can become’ in the eyes of others—and we’re talking as many …

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Are You Better Looking than Most People?

MysteryShrink Short:  Who has the smallest rear, the youngest face, the finest clothes, the clearest skin? Who has the right skin color? Who are the losers? The winners? In the documentary, Come Back, Africa (1960) Zacharia, a man from ‘the villages’, comes to Johannesburg where his new employer, the wealthy …

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A Thanksgiving MysteryShrink Short

A Thanksgiving MysteryShrink Short A Quiet Man Shows the Rest of Us What Thanksgiving Really Means Sure, there was turkey and everything else that’s supposed to represent abundance and gratitude in the family. But it was John Bunch, a cousin of my late father-in-law, that who reminded us what it …

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